


Retrieval Code

by Raine_Wynd



Category: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells, The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Andy | Andromache of Scythia Never Loses Immortality, Background Relationships, Canon Divergence, Crossover, Gen, Gen Work, How Do I Tag, Implied Violence, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:40:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28282578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raine_Wynd/pseuds/Raine_Wynd
Summary: Crossover shenanigans inspired by conversations on Discord, because you know TOG would totally be helping people out and fighting for what they thought was right. :-)
Relationships: Andy & Booker & Joe/Nicky & Nile, Andy | Andromache of Scythia & Booker | Sebastien le Livre & Nile Freeman, Asshole Research Transport & Murderbot (Murderbot Diaries), Booker | Sebastien le Livre & Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Nile Freeman & Nicky | Nicolo di Genoa
Comments: 21
Kudos: 52





	Retrieval Code

**Author's Note:**

> With thanks to Lizbee, Muccamukk, Ama Gafr, Gammarad, and the gang on the Cranky Fandom Olds Discord – this wouldn’t happen without you. Thanks also to TorraK on Twitter and Truffula for helping and inspiring me!  
> Thanks also to my betas: Rhiannon Shaw, oldtoadwoman, and Lizbee, who saw the initial version of this but not the ending.

Breaking out of the crates in which they had been packaged took more effort and noise than Booker had anticipated. Hoping the ship onto which they’d been loaded did not have any high-tech sensors or security units, he worked quickly to free his companions from the ‘heritage meat’ cargo units. Thankfully, the cargo loaders had not expected the crates to require heavy-duty locks, so breaking the locks and undoing the crate straps was more awkward by himself than without help. Traveling this way to Ianrock was not the best way, but passage to Ianrock was heavily restricted. Only certain vessels ever traveled this route, and none were passenger ships.

To fool the sensors and aware they were capable of reviving in seconds from most any death, the team had given themselves a paralytic that mimicked death for twenty hours. Whoever woke first, presumably Nile since she was the youngest, was to free the others and administer the antidote to the others.

Unfortunately for Booker, that meant Nile had the antidote and she was not yet awake. Swearing under his breath, he dug into the pockets of her clothing, hoping she had tucked the medicine in a place he could access without jarring her and triggering her paranoia. To his relief, the shots were in the left thigh pocket of her cargo pants. He gave her a shot, then moved back to give her room.

She drew a breath, sitting up reflexively. “Damn it, I knew I should have taken that bet.”

Booker grinned. “You said you knew better than to take one of my bets.”

She rolled her eyes. “Shut up and let’s get the others.”

She took Booker’s help to step out of the crate, then took one of the remaining antidotes so she could administer it to Joe while he gave the shot to Nicky. While they waited for the older immortals to revive, Nile retrieved their weapons from the hidden compartment beneath the crate in which she had been placed. Booker’s crate was similarly stocked with extra clothes and tactical gear so they could pass for hired security.

“Where are we?” Joe asked once he and Nicky had reassured each other they, Nile, and Booker were alive and well.

Nile checked the display on the wall near the doors that led into the ship. “Looks like _The Perihelion_ , which belongs to the Pansystem University of Mihira and New Tideland.”

“Research vessel?” Nicky wondered.

“Yes,” an unfamiliar voice announced. “I do not recall humans being a part of my cargo for this trip.”

“Please don’t kill us,” Nile said quickly. “We need to get to Ianrock.”

“You are aware that travel to Ianrock is limited to basic supplies only?”

Booker smiled winningly. “We’re bringing basic supplies.”

“I highly doubt that,” said a second voice.

Booker swore, realizing he had not searched the cargo area for any security units. This one looked like more human than most, but the gleaming weapons on its arms were a dead giveaway that it was more likely a high-security protocol robot.

“Unless the supplies you’re bringing are meant to sow chaos in Ianrock,” the robot continued, unfazed by the team’s reaction to arm themselves and spread out so they were not a single target.

“What would telling you our purpose serve?” Nile challenged.

“I don’t give in to my desire to kill humans who interrupt my viewing of _Sanctuary Moon_?”

Booker risked a glance at Joe, wondering how to deal with this and hoping the older man would have an idea.

“We need to retrieve a friend who’s been working with the refugees,” Joe offered.

The SecUnit seemed to consider this. “No refugees are on Ianrock.”

“My mistake. The farmers from Aegis who were forcibly resettled on a barren planet, then told to terraform the fields with their bare hands or be shot," Joe countered blandly. "Who were given the barest of tools to use and must barter amongst themselves for what few humanitarian supplies come their way while their leaders proclaim Ianrock is a utopia of living.”

This information seemed to disturb the SecUnit and it lowered its arm weapons. “Tell me more.”

“The entry port is a façade, a carefully-constructed and -controlled area, designed to ensure any visitors are fooled into believing the propaganda pushed by the Ianrock ruling council,” Booker elaborated. “Beyond that, however, we have evidence that shows ten kilometers past the port is a fortified prison – supposedly, the communal gardens – with the central pavilion acting as guard tower.”

“Show me.”

Booker hesitated.

“I am not going to share this info with the Central Network.” The SecUnit looked at him as if that notion should have been obvious.

Booker pulled his info tablet out of his pack and handed it to the SecUnit, who ported in, processed the data, and then handed the tablet back.

“ART and I will help you, but we have only a short window while we deliver the cargo.”

“How long?”

“Normally, it would be less than an hour, Standard Time,” _The Perihelion_ said. “How long will you need?”

Booker, Nile, Joe, and Nicky looked at each other. “Make it two hours,” Joe said.

They made it back with two minutes to spare, a horde of angry Ianrock military guards hot on their trail, but with the friend and three others she had insisted on bringing with her.

“I hope this was worth it,” the SecUnit muttered, looking at the new people on board.

“Can’t leave you anywhere without getting into trouble, can we, Andy?” Nile asked, shaking her head at the woman with the short-cropped black hair, but stepping forward to hug her.

Andy smiled as she returned the hug. “I figured you’d find me eventually if I didn’t get myself out first.” She hugged Nicky, Joe, and Booker in turn, before looking at them. “This is a bigger problem than I thought it would be, but we’d need an army and a politician to change it.”

Joe nodded grimly. “We have some time before we get to this ship’s next port of call if you want to discuss it, but I suspect this SecUnit and this ship would prefer to remain ignorant of such conversation.”

Andy looked startled. “Not a simple transport ship?”

“Or a mindless protection robot,” Nicky clarified.

Andy took another look around. “Good to know. Is there somewhere on board we can get cleaned up and some food?”

“I’m afraid my stores are limited,” the ship said, “but you are welcome to what I have. Please follow the directional markers.”

“Now you’ll never be rid of them,” the SecUnit snarked.

**Author's Note:**

> ... and this is where I stopped, because I really didn't want to write the novel. Imagine much mayhem and rescue and fighting as TOG frees people from Ianrock, with and without ART and Murderbot's help. :-)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this! If you do, please put kudos and/or comment - I love to hear from my readers, even when this fic is long past its posting date and I've long since forgotten a) that I wrote it b) what it's about and/or c) that I ever wrote in this fandom. 😜


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